Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Veggie Noodles

Since I was a little girl my all time favorite food has been spaghetti.  I really love all types of pasta, but spaghetti is my favorite.

When I was younger and I got sick (which was more often than not), I would get to stay with my Grandparents and my Grandmother would let me eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And I still never got tired of it! One time when we were taking our summer vacation in the RV they asked me what I wanted for lunch...obvious answer, spaghetti...so there we were in the middle of no where, on the side of the road and my amazingly, wonderful Grandmother was making the whole family spaghetti.  (I look back now and think why in the world you would give me the option of spaghetti at that particular point in time.....)

So now that I'm living on my own I like to cook for myself versus eating out (I hardly ever eat out unless I have company coming to visit).  Spaghetti, just happens to be one of the easiest meals to make and I make a lot of it....I mean a whole lot of it.  I try to have a healthy diet but spaghetti is my downfall...I can't help it, I just love it!  I stumbled across this article one day: "The whole truth: How Healthy is Your Pasta" ....Now, I know that you can make these accusations about almost every single food out there, but since I eat a lot of pasta I thought it best to try and find some better solutions.

Fortunately, I am an experienced researcher on Pinterest so it wasn't hard to find an acceptable substitute for the noodles...Veggies!!  Really it is so easy that I feel a little silly for never thinking of it!

I used zucchini, squash, and carrots.  (It's even better if you can make it down to the local Farmers Market)


Make sure they are nice and clean.  Then, I used a potato peeler and made thin ribbon slices, working my way all around each piece. 


Next, I steamed the veggies.  I added a little bit of water into a pot (roughly an inch of water) and let the water come to a boil.  Once it was boiling I added my noodles.  Make sure you monitor the water level and simple add more water if it gets too low.


Once the noodles were ready, I drained the remaining water.


Then they are ready to serve!! 



If you are really good, you make your own sauce to go on top...I was a little too lazy and used store bought sauce, but hey it was organic so that counts for something :)  Now I don't feel as guilty for eating pasta so often!!

Happy Hump Day!!


Tuesday, July 9, 2013

My Brothers Gettin Hitched

It is finally here, the long awaited and ever anticipated Ruffin Wedding!!  

This past weekend we all gathered in Georgetown, TX  (whew, finally somewhere closer to me!) for the day my parents say they have waited 30 years for!!

For the rehearsal dinner we ate at Gumbos and it was delicious!  It's always fun to get everyone together and just relax and hang out.
























After Gumbos, the boys and girls went their separate ways for Andrew and Jessica's last night of freedom :)

The next morning we woke up early to go set everything up at the venue.  It was such a beautiful place and  perfect for Andrew and Jessica!!




































After that, we had to hide Jessica away so we could have the rehearsal (They couldn't see each other until she walked down the isle!!) Rex's wife Lindsey stepped in for Jessica during the rehearsal.

















Then we all went back to the hotel to shower and freshen up before we had to be back for real thing!



It's official, I have a sister!! Let the party begin!!





 





So wonderful to be there to for my Brother and Jessica as they celebrated this new chapter in their life! I'm excited to see what the future holds for them!

(I'll post more pictures from the wedding when they get them in from the photographer, my camera died so I only have pictures from my phone)